Spears questions presence of Romo and Witten in owner’s box last night

Posted by Mike Florio on April 8, 2014, 2:47 PM EST

Monday night’s NCAA championship game featured a Texas-style full house in Jerry Jones’ private suite — three Cowboys and a pair of presidents.

Joining Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in the box were Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, quarterback Tony Romo, and tight end Jason Witten.

Former Cowboys defensive lineman Marcus Spears, who recently retired from the NFL to take a job with the SEC Network, thinks the coach’s decision to hang out with Romo and Witten sends a bad message to the rest of the team. Specifically, Spears believes that including Romo and Witten and not anyone else from the team puts them above the rest of the team.

“You understand in this league that your star players are going to have things come their way that most guys don’t,” Spears told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas/Ft. Worth. “I’ve had opportunities that some guys didn’t have. . . . The team aspect has always been first to me. That’s just the bottom line. I don’t know if it sends the right message when your head coach is hanging out with one particular guy.”

Spears admits he doesn’t know whether other players were invited. Then again, it would have been hard to cram many more football players into the North Texas version of Hollywood Squares.

“When you have that type of situation in the locker room, possibly it causes problems,” Spears said. “That was my point. It wasn’t to make anybody look bad or say Jerry is doing something wrong or anything like that. I just wondered if any of the other guys felt like they should be there or if they ever were invited to any other events. . . . When you’re building a team, when you’ve got a team concept — as many young guys as the Cowboys have on the team right now — I just felt like it would have been a good situation for all of them to try to get together and hang out and build that team camaraderie with the guys.”

In the grand scheme of things, this is a blip at best. But it could be a symptom of a broader problem, with some players enjoying special status within the organization. Beyond, you know, their salaries.

Jason Witten is a team captain, a leader, and a guy who’s devoted 11 years and counting to being a Dallas Cowboy. Romo even with everything said about him has still been a Cowboy for over 10 years and has been the starting QB for the past 7…so it would be safe to assume they have more standing with Jerry Jones than a young guy who hasn’t had the same individual career success.

I’m not even a cowboys fan but I don’t see much wrong with two lifetime Cowboys players, particularly a classy player like Witten, being in the owners box.

doe22us says:Apr 8, 2014 2:58 PM

Somebody got his little old feelings hurt because he wasnt invited to join the big boys. Shut up dude and carry on. Jerry can invite who ever he darn well pleases.

Yes, all 60 players should have been the booth. That would have been the only fair way.

drsummeroff says:Apr 8, 2014 2:59 PM

Find even ONE team that doesn’t treat their stars differently and hold them to a different standard?….well at least so long as they don’t start bleating about more money a year or two into the contract? Nothing takes the smile off the owners face quicker. Then you get ‘DeSeaned’.

Find even ONE team that doesn’t treat their stars differently and hold them to a different standard?

Patriots and Tom Brady. It is well documented that Belichick curses out Brady in front of the team all the time and Bill O’brien is most likely a HC in the NFL now because of his sideline fight with Brady

Even very well run franchises (like the Giants, Steelers, Patriots and Bears) show favoritism for star players (especially franchise quarterbacks). My guess is that Spears is more frustrated that his new contract is with the SEC network, while DeMarcus Ware’s (drafted by the same Cowboys, 9 spots ahead of him in the 2005 draft) new contract is for $30 million. And he is blaming Jones for not rewarding him the same throughout his career.

tinbender2000 says:Apr 8, 2014 3:26 PM

OK, Marcus Spears. I was wondering why Brittany had a problem with this.

Hey, it’s his Stadium and his Money… He can choose anyone he wants to be in his entourage, even if it hurts your feelings. This happens at every workplace. For those of you not invited to the Spas and Golf Clubs when your company’s executive management goes, here is my suggestion: work harder to move up, find solace with your own family and friends or steal a pack of pencils from the supply room. Whatever makes you happy.

fdugrad says:Apr 8, 2014 3:34 PM

Marcus is JUST figuring this out? JEEZ, I hope he provides more current insights in his new position with The SEC! Even casual football fans know one of the BIGGEST reasons The ‘Boys are so screwed up is due to the fact that certain players have full access, as well as the ear of Jerrah. Anytime these players have their noses out of joint, the run upstairs, leaving footprints on the top of the current coach’s head. JJ only appoints his head coach, he never EMPOWERS them. This is a “picture perfect” example of his dysfunctional brand of ownership.

Damn some of you are dumb. He’s not saying everybody should have been invited, he’s saying no one should have been invited. The head coach hanging out with players is a bad idea. And there can’t be any incentives outside of what is in their contract. Hanging out with players worked out real well for Raheem Morris in tampa. It does send a bad message to the rest of the team, where the rules are everyone is the same, we all do this together, together except those guys who get treated different but the owner and coach.

Spears just retired and took a media job. This is just his first stab at getting attention and maybe relevance in his new position. It says more about him that he took a shot at his former boss and teammates, than it does about them.

Jimmy Johnson openly admitted to treating players based on where they were on thr totem pole. If you think higher ranking people don’t get special treatment then you must be living in some other reality.

Somebody said they haven’t done anything in the past quarter of the century. I guess 3 Super Bowls in 25 years isn’t anything. Is there more than 5 teams with 3 Super Bowls in the past 25 years? You probably should’ve said the past 20 years, if you want to be politically correct. Just saying.

Lemme pose a question. If Ware was still on the team would he have been invited? Jones has the 2nd and 3rd highest earners there, yet not Brandon Carr, their top paid player. Coincidence that everyone in the box looks the same?

I’m a diehard Guants fan and lifelong Cowboy hater, and I don’t see any issue with this at all. These are two of the teams marquee and franchise players, it’s the offseason and these guys have seniority per say. After all the years Witten has put in, as much as I hate him for being so good, he deserves that seat. Spears sounds like he ate a leaf off the jealousy tree

While I wouldn’t say this “isolated” incident constitutes some antithesis of team, people of all backgrounds can get butt hurt for any number of reasons. People for whatever reason, especially in the environment of professional football, a fairly exclusive fraternity, tend to develop a rapport. It’s called human nature. If your tender sensibilities are offended by such things, it’s gonna be long day.

Just for comparison’s sake: Steve Bisciotti, the Ravens’ owner, brings players with him to Maryland basketball games, but he doesn’t play favorites. He brings star players and special teamers alike. But now that I actually think about it, I’ve never seen any of the lower salary players sitting directly next to him. That seat has always been reserved for players like Ed Reed. So I guess Bisciotti plays favorites as well. In his own way.

Really Spears??? Maybe you just revealed why you’re not on the team anymore. We’ve always heard about players who were not team players in the locker room. It seems to me, one has just been revealed.

NakedCowboy! says:Apr 9, 2014 2:12 AM

Not a big jerry fan but this is just spears trying to launch his media career… murray, jason garret and irwin were all in the box… and if ware was in team, he might have been there too… only star i see missing is bryant…